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I like to try and check out what was creating a buzz at NAMM every year. This time it was the new GK RB Legacy amps. Didn’t see much in the way of basses that interested me , perhaps the Dano Longhorns in new colours with the “f” holes. I think I can be marked “safe” this year. … some years ago Fender introduced a Japanese 51 reissue , and when it appeared on the Fender site on the first day of name I was at my favourite music store when they opened. Nose pressed up against the glass. As we’re on Atlantic time I was probably the first order in North America.

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Easily the most intriguing of this NAMM’s offerings. I was an RB fanboi for ages.

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I love those , they’ve been unavailable for years and yet remain on the website. I keep expecting another run of them.

Now I did pick up a Barefaced One10 and it’s not much larger , and can fill a room. But the C2 is wonderful if you sit directly in front of it at low volume , but it just doesn’t fill a room.

How did it go? I use a C2 at home , but don’t think it could fill a room. The Elf is surprising.

I like that.

My Jo Choui amp arrived , I believe the form was inspired by the Demeter Minnie. This should become my gigging rig for the time being.

I honestly think I can do the year without buying anything. And will probably sell several amps and maybe some basses. However I do have a sock with some cash in it in case some musical emergency pops up … but I really don’t need anything more. I’m still watching kijiji and have been known to alert friends when something interesting pops up. Yesterday an Epiphone Zenith appeared with a good price. Very short run and a very interesting bass. Immediately alerted two friends. Had it been a short scale I might have been tempted.

Amp I ordered in December arrived today. Also had strings on order. I think I’m good though …

Nice to see a RB400 still pumping things out. I used one for years and it was bulletproof. Easy to dial in , serious thump. Always sounded great. Probably one of the most reliable amps I had.

A reunion gig with what we call the old Sunday band , one that hosted a jam for about eleven years , and one that is generally ready to try most anything. In the spirit of things we did some requests we’d never done (later period Elvis tunes) , and everything worked out fine. Great Remington Ride , an instrumental take on Goldfinger , some surf , some Dick Dale and a nice mix of blues grooves. We’re in the dead of winter but the weather was mild. Unfortunately a lacrosse game was happening around the corner , parking was a misery. Big appreciative crowd , great night. Big orange Gretsch with Monique , the Forte and Berg cab. Back to the old dive ( well , really the new dive) for the jam tonight. I’ve got a new power amp in the mail that should arrive this week , might be the last run with the Forte for a while. It was an absolute joy hearing the guys play last night.

I ordered an amp to be built in December , should arrive Tuesday. It’s on the way.

that is utter madness

Ouch.

Someday I would love to have one of these fall into my hands.

A friend here has a Jupiter , I was quite surprised when it surfaced.

I made arrangements last year to have an amp built , could be delivered next week. But I plan to thin things this year , and don’t really need anything else. I’m in.

Finding a qualified repairman for Class D amps isn’t always easy. They certainly can be fixed.

ouch

big orange Gretsch , Dano Longhorn , Monique , Forte for power , Berg112 , big fat and warm. edit … tried to add photos , but the file size was too large and the direct links didn’t work

The little GK MB200 has been around for ages , great little amp. It has a fan but it’s nowhere near as loud as the Elf. Two others I’ve also run in that range , Aguilar TH 350 , or Darkglass m200. Both nice little heads that can get surprisingly loud for their size.

It’s funny , I had been using the original Forte , with the compressor rather than the drive . Clean , transparent hifi , I loved the sound. And then picked up a tube preamp and just used the back end of the Forte to power the pre. Complete direction flip. Love the sound. Before the Forte I had been running a GenzBenz Streamliner , which has a 3 tube preamp and a fairly warm , dark coloured sound. Before the Liner various GK heads.

The only audition I’ve ever done was for the first working band I joined. They were touring around the local circuit , power trio with some blues background but leaning into Jeff Beck territory. Lesbian couple. Mostly original material. I was the only one that showed up for the audition , we jammed for about an hour and a half , I got the spot. I had been doing photographic work , traded a Nikon F2 for a 72 Pbass. Still have that old Pbass. Got a Marshall head on time. It was the mid 70’s. I’ve been playing and gigging ever since.